Saturday, 3 September 2011

A hearty Spanish red for the weekend

Aranleon Solo 2005 Utiel-Requena, Spain

After a couple of high(er)-end wines in the middle of the week (ref; Domaine de Montcalmes and Domaine de La Marfée) I opened a bottle of this little Spanish number last night. Actually, it isn't really little - it is quite a big, strapping wine really. A blend of Bobal, Tempranillo and Syrah, aged for 14 months in Hungarian oak barrels, the label describes how it is "the result of 2 years work; patient and accurate, like the snail's walk" (hence, the snail-shaped text on the label). And I must say that at 6 years of age, it is ageing at a snail's pace, and may well take another 5 to 10 years to really come to maturity - perhaps even more.

That said, it is rather pleasurable to drink now, albeit in a super-ripe style, with big, brambly fruit aromas and flavours, big, but velvety tannins and a touch of eau de vie. Every now and then, there's a hint of raspberry and flowers (the Syrah coming through, perhaps?) which adds a promising touch of aromatic lift. The one possible downside is that it shows only a modicum of acidity, although there may be a little bit to spare, hidden behind that really rather massive fruit/tannin structure, but only time will tell. Stylistically, though, it isn't a million miles removed from some very decent Cotes du Rhone Villages, which benefit from a similar sort of hot climate and tend to be imbued with relatively low acidity, but often blossom with age. Meanwhile, this wine remains more in the way of a winter warmer (which is unfortunate, given that we have just experienced what presumably passes as the English "summer") fit to match a hearty stew or a Sunday roast. Then again, it should go reasonably well with our traditional Saturday night pizza - home-made, of course! 14.0% abv.

I'm with you, I like bright acidity...my husband suggests that that is due to a diet that included malt vinegar growing up :) But, I do like lots of berry-action and smooth tannins, however not the over ripe monsters that Parker promotes.

About me

Having spent over 33 years as a civil servant (in legal terms, that's at least 2 life sentences!) I am now a full-time wine merchant. I have been happily married to the lovely Diane (known to my wine friends as 'TLD') since 1985, and we have been blessed with two sons - Alex (1990) and Daniel (1991). Here you can read my thoughts and opinions on many things wine-related (and occasionally other things, too). You can find out all about my wines and growers by visiting the Leon Stolarski Fine Wines website.